GREEN BAY - Interest in Green Bay's Shipyard redevelopment area has revived as a developer finalizes plans to build 225 riverfront apartments while two other developers are vying for control of another site.
Iowa-based Merge Urban Development has proposed building 225 market-rate apartments, 4,000 square feet of restaurant or retail space and parking on a 5.5 acre site south of Arndt Street between South Broadway and the Fox River.
The development proposal should mean west side residents will finally see activity on the 16-acre Shipyard site for the first time since the city bought the property 30 years ago, said Neil Stechschulte, economic development director for the city of Green Bay. Previously, the Green Bay Booyah came close to developing a stadium on the site and a Green Bay technology company, Breakthrough, briefly considered the site for its new headquarters.
ASHWAUBENON – A site plan for a climbing gym attached to a five-story building planned along Mike McCarthy Way was recommended Thursday, April 8, by the village’s Site Plan Review Committee and Plan Commission.
Community Development Director Aaron Schuette said Merge Urban Development previously received village board approval in January to construct a mixed-use structure on the north side of Mike McCarthy Way between Holmgren Way and South Ashland Avenue.
However, Schuette said at that time Merge didn’t have plans ready for the climbing gym, which will be attached on the east of the building and called the Odyssey Climbing Gym with four-story climbing walls and boulder walls.
DULUTH – The historic, onetime Seaway Hotel will be demolished to make way for new housing in the Lincoln Park neighborhood after a plan to renovate the local landmark fell through.
The Esmond Building, as it is now known, most recently was a low-income housing complex at the corner of W. Superior Street and 20th Avenue W. that a developer planned to remake into mainly market-rate housing. Former residents of the building were moved into the new Garfield Square apartment complex several blocks east last year.
The redevelopment plans ultimately were not feasible, said Jason Hale, the city of Duluth's senior housing developer, but construction on a new building could start as soon as this year.
For those who understand musical notation – or speak Italian – “Andante” means “at a walking pace.” It’s also the name of five-story mixed-use development poised to rise in the coming months between North Barstow and Farwell streets in downtown Eau Claire.
The name is both a nod to Eau Claire’s musical culture and a reference to the fact the building’s future residents will be within walking distance of numerous offices, restaurants, entertainment venues, and other amenities: Phoenix Park, for example, is just two blocks away.
The company that is finishing up the Brio Building downtown intends to break ground this summer on a waterfront parcel that will close the final gap along the north side of the Fox River between Wisconsin and Jackson streets.
“This really puts a nice cap on” the redevelopment of Marion Road, said City Manager Mark Rohloff. “It’s really going to add some vibrancy.”
The real estate company behind the Brio is Merge Urban Development Group, based in Cedar Falls, Iowa. It is working on branding the riverfront site as Mackson Corners, a mash-up of Marion Road and Jackson Street.
WVIK - Herb Trix - What had been a vacant lot in downtown Davenport will soon be the site of new apartments and commercial space. Construction has started on a building called "Urbane 210."
Kyle Carter, Executive Director of the Downtown Davenport Partnership, says "210" refers to its address on East Second Street, and "urbane" because it's a unique project.
REBusinessOnline - Kristin Hiller - CITY OF SIOUX CITY - Downtown Sioux City, Iowa is currently experiencing growth and transformation on an unprecedented scale. This emerging and vibrant place is not only celebrating its rich and colorful history with multiple historic property renovations, but has made strides to re-invent itself and take the downtown to new levels.
These efforts include the growth of new residential options, an increasing number of cultural attractions and quality-of-life amenities, new entry corridors and a commitment to an extraordinary and ever-evolving riverfront park. This energy and economic activity offers a range of development opportunities, including residential, office, retail and entertainment.
While COVID-19 has had some minor impacts, all of the ongoing downtown construction projects have been able to stay on track and are being completed on schedule, as of the writing of this article.
Reinvestment district
Over $150 million in public and private capital is currently being invested in a 25-acre downtown reinvestment district. This entertainment, cultural and residential district has been designed to extend from the downtown’s entryway directly into the heart of downtown. The district features four signature projects, with a total of 10 public or private buildings that will be fully completed in 2020.
VolumeOne - Tom Giffey - The Eau Claire City Council unanimously approved a zoning change and site plan necessary to build a five-story mixed use building along the Eau Claire River at 100 N. Farwell St., a site now known as the Railroad Lot.
The proposed building, known as Andante, would be built by Iowa-based Merge Urban Development, which last year entered into an agreement with the city to develop the property.
The proposed development would included 8,600 square feet of first-floor commercial space (suited for a restaurant, service businesses, or retail), and 76 residential units in the 54,000 square feet on the higher floors, plus surface parking. According to documents submitted by the developer to the city, “The project is intended to provide more housing options in the downtown area, particularly for young professionals and empty nesters, while helping to activate the space along the river.”
Quad-City Times - Alma Gaul - DAVENPORT, Iowa — Three new apartment projects proposed for Davenport have been awarded workforce housing tax credits from the Iowa Economic Development Authority, a financing boost that moves them closer to actually being built.
Merge Urban Development, of Cedar Falls, Iowa, received a $1 million award expected to trigger its purchase of city-owned green space south of the RiverCenter. The space would be used for construction of a $7 million, five-story building with 60 market-rate apartments and ground-floor retail to be called Urbane210. The apartments would include studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units, developer Brent Dahlstrom said.
Siouxland Proud - Tasia Nevilles - SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) — Downtown Sioux City is on a steady path of expansion.
Rose Gutierrez, a server at SoHo’s Kitchen and Bar said she’s seeing it firsthand now that downtown’s 4th Street is the place for entertainment.
“It has grown a lot more. We have gotten a lot more business and more new faces in here,” said Gutierrez.
She’s experiencing what may be the beginning now that Merge Urban Development plans to build a $6 million mixed-use building on the corner of 4th Street and Floyd Boulevard.
Brent Dahlstrom, a merger partner, described what the Sioux City council approved as a development agreement with the Cedar Falls company on Monday.
“The project is a mixture of commercial on the first floor and the residential will be on the upper floor,” said Dahlstrom. “It’s right around 60 units and there’s a little over 6,000 square feet of retail on the first floor.”
Sioux City Mayor Scott said the project will support the growth of walkable neighborhoods and increase economic activity.
“We continue to see housing downtown and I think every time you build one of those [units] it just enhances the whole downtown core,” said Scott.
The building is projected to be completed in 2021.
